Health Update Part Two or I Need a New Doctor

Went to the doctors the other evening to see where I am at with my bloodwork and all.

My blood pressure was really down.( I never realized it was up.)

My BMI (body mass index) has dropped (obviously)
but apparently I'm still "pre-diabetic" my number was 5.8.
I asked what the normal range is and he said 5.6 or 5.7
.............(My sister is checking into that for me.)
He asked about my diet and made some faces when I said that I sometimes have lunch meat and pretzels for lunch.
He said lunch meat wasn't good for me and I said I DON'T have THAT all the time, it's just an example.
Sometimes I have soup.
He asked how many pretzels I'm eating.
Asshole.
I said a handful. I didn't say several handfuls throughout the day.
He asked what kind of lunch meat and I said - thin sliced turkey 98% fat free.
He said "Oh! well, that's OK then".
Idiot.
I said that I eat frozen cherries and fat free whipped cream when I'm craving sweets.
I swear he curled his lip.
I said "Well, I've lost quite a bit of weight" and he seemed startled and looked at my file again.
I said - "THAT shows 24lbs HERE on YOUR scale but at WORK the scale said 29 lbs."

He asked where I worked.
He asked if I was active and I said Yes. and he just looked at me.
I told him I put one of those pedometers on one time and was told that I needed to accumulate 10,000. steps for the day.
I said I forget to put it on for the first hour that I was at work, but by the end of the day I almost hit 15,000.
I said I planned on walking more once it cools off a bit.
My cholesterol is still high - 211
He said it HAD been down to 169, I said I KNOW. but that was when I was on the statin.
He asked when I quit taking it and I said "March 5th the day I left here from my last visit...
I couldn't handle the side-effects".
He said that diet CAN lower it and to keep working on it.
I said that I WOULD. There is no doubt about doing it.
He asked if I drank. I said not really especially since I'm trying to lose weight.
He said that I should drink a glass of red wine at night to lower the #'s
but not to become an alcoholic.
I said that I preferred Vodka.
He said "That's fine too, just don't become an alcoholic.
But red wine would be better".

As far as all my hot flashes go and all the other joys of menopause....yeah, that was just shrugged off and I was told that I could be having symptoms for YEARS.

What a waste of time.

I go back in 6 months after I get a blood test ran again.
So, I will go just to get the #'s again (they don't charge me)
I go to a clinic that helps out people who are employed but who do not have Health Insurance.
I wish I had health insurance, I've checked it out but I'm not able to afford any of the premiums.
I'm really living paycheck to paycheck. But a lot of people are in the same boat as I am.
So I go to the clinic and I'm able to get very basic medical work and prescriptions are available,
but I don't want to take any medications.
I'm not really sure what I would do if they discovered something major but then again I doubt they will.
I mean discover it, not that I would never ever get anything major.
I guess ya get what you pay for, or what you don't pay for, which is nothing.
I could just have taken the blood test and shown it to my sister and gotten more detailed information.
So, that's my update.

But some day I will need a new doctor.

and maybe a plastic surgeon to tighten up my skin after the fat is gone
and put my boobs back up where they belong.

HEALTH UPDATE - PART ONE

So I stopped eating junk on Monday night March 5th 2012
after my visit to the doctor.
I had been feeling like crap. My joints were aching.
I was always feeling tired and dizzy.
I read up on the statin I was taking and all these problems can many times be the side effects.
That and the fact that I had gained so much weight and am now menopausal.
My "numbers" were not good. And it showed that I was
pre-diabetic.
So I came home that night and grabbed a big trash bag.
I filled it with almost everything in my frig and in the cupboards.
Since then I haven't cheated once. I'm not eating any saturated or trans fat and NO cholesterol except for the cholesterol found in fish and chicken.
I'm not on a diet, die-it....
I'm eating to live.
So last Tuesday morning before my birthday I had my blood drawn for tests.
The next day, being my birthday I went to lunch with my sister and one of my nieces. Since I had done the blood tests, I decided to order whatever I wanted.
I had chicken salad on rye and bean salad and a bite of my niece's muffin. When I went home, I only had berries and non-fat yogurt for dinner.
Then the next day I realized that I still had a gift certificate to Starbucks so at lunch time I went and got a
Large Mocha Frappuccino.
It was very good but as I was finishing it I thought...

What The HELL am I doing?!!!!

That was Thursday.
Saturday I worked in the morning. It was crazy busy. I had a full boarding kennel. Lots of dogs were going home and more coming in. I had to do a lot of rearranging and squeeze in one more dog that wasn't on the schedule.

I had to keep running up front to get the incoming dogs and I would pass the employee lounge.
I could see the box of donuts sitting in there, on the counter.
When I got to the front office, all the girls were munching on donuts and rolls.
After the clinic closed and when I was by myself finishing up,
I had to walk through the lounge to the restroom.
On my way back out my eyes were drawn to the box.
I went up to the box and opened it.
I looked at the frosted little things.

I closed the box.
Nope, not doing it.
I have my doctors appointment in a few days, I'm excited to see what my "numbers" are.
I'm feeling much better though I am exhausted.
But I think that exhaustion is due to the fact that I am not getting enough sleep
and I am working in 100 plus degree heat every day.
Wish me Luck!